Verlander eyes second straight AL Cy Young Award

(Sports Network) - Detroit righty Justin Verlander was a unanimous selection
for the American League Cy Young Award last season.

The voting likely won't be as lopsided as it was a year ago, but the end
result could be the same when the Baseball Writers' Association of America
hands out the AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday.

Verlander was not as dominant as he was in 2011, but still enjoyed another
magnificent campaign, going 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA and an AL-best 239
strikeouts. He also finished the year strong, surrendering just two earned
runs
over 28 innings in his final four starts to the regular season.

The AL's reigning MVP, who tossed a league-leading 238 1/3 innings, separated
himself from the pack down the stretch, posting a 5-1 mark with a 1.93 ERA
over
his last six starts.

Weaver, who finished second to Verlander in Cy Young voting last year, was
terrific this season, going 20-5 with a 2.81 ERA. He also struck out 142
batters and walked just 45. Of course, the highlight of his came when he threw
a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins on May 2, where he faced 29 batters
and struck out nine.

He also had the lowest average against (.214), and WHIP (1.02).

But thanks in part to some injuries, Weaver worked just 188 2/3 innings over
30 starts. He also had a 6.14 ERA in a five-start stretch from Aug. 12-Sept.
2.

Price, meanwhile led the AL (and was second in the majors) with a 2.56 ERA and
shared the AL lead in wins with Weaver at 20. However, he was eighth in
innings pitched (211), sixth in strikeouts (205) and tied for third in WHIP
(1.10).

He was the runner-up for this award in 2010 to Felix Hernandez of the Seattle
Mariners.

Price has already collected some hardware this offseason and was named the
AL's Most Outstanding Pitcher by the Major League Baseball Players
Association.

The National League Cy Young Award winner also will be announced on Wednesday.